GEO BON projects

NASA announces new funding for GEO BON Activities

On October 23rd 2017, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the U.S. GEO delegation organized a side-event at the GEO Week to announce funding for projects that will directly support and advance the GEO Work Programme. In total, 32 projects were selected for a total investment of $17,2 million over 4 years. Seven of the funded projects will be directly contributing to GEO BON’s activities, with an eighth proposal, within the AmeriGEOSS component of GEO, supporting the development of the “Pole to Pole Marine BON”. These projects are an example of the continued strong support from the U.S. Government for GEO BON and will make major contributions to (1) the development of Essential Biodiversity Variables, (2) capacity building tools and the development of BON in a Box, and (3) the enhancement of existing national, regional, and thematic BONs.

The funded projects are the following:

Laying the foundations of the Pole-to-Pole Marine Biodiversity Observation Network of the Americas. Enrique Montes, University Of South Florida-Tampa [within AmeriGEOSS:https://www.amerigeoss.org/]

Expanding Wallace biodiversity modeling software to support national biodiversity change indicator calculations for GEO BON assessment and reporting. Mary Blair, American Museum Of Natural History

Activities to advance, build, and deliver remote-sensing supported species distribution and species abundance EBVs. Walter Jetz, Yale University